I wanted to get this post out today because I know a lot of people are putting up Christmas trees this weekend, and it's a pretty normal activity to partake in a bit of hot chocolate while either obtaining a tree out in the great outdoors or putting it up in your house. Or at least it is in mine. And I swear all recipes on this site won't involve chocolate. But it does seem to be a theme, eh? Hmm…

I like to keep a pre-made mix around so that when the occasion arises it's simple to just scoop out a bit of mix, add it to milk, and heat. Occasions like when you are busy putting up your tree or when you just slogged back into your house after shoveling 10 feet of snow off of your driveway and sledded down enough hills with your kids to remove all the skin off your knuckles and you can't feel your face.

It is also a fantastic gift idea to give someone a pre-made hot chocolate mix that they just need to mix with the milk (dairy-free or not) of choice, so should you be needing an inexpensive and easy to make gift this year, look no further! Just put it in a clear cellophane bag and place it in a pretty mug with a few cinnamon sticks and a card with instructions and you are set! See below for a free printable that I have whipped up that you can use as the gift tag.  And if you so choose, you can also give them homemade marshmallows, my choice being this recipe by Jenni of The Urban Poser.

This recipe is for the mix, see below if you want to make it to drink now.

Paleo Pre-Made Hot Chocolate Mix

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Preparation 5 minutes Total Time 0:05

Serves This is per 1 cup – multiply by the number of cups you want to make     adjust servings

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbs (23 mL) Cocoa Powder
• 1 tbs (15 mL) Coconut Sugar
• 1/8 tsp (1 mL) Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp (1 mL) Sea Salt

Instructions

Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl, multiplying as necessary for the amount you want. When making the hot chocolate to drink either you or the recipient would mix it with 1 cup of milk of their choice. Our favorite is almond milk.

by Michele

Recipe Notes

If you want to make this RIGHT NOW simply add to your milk of choice, whisk together and heat until at your desired temperature.

Use this free printable as a gift tag! It's a PDF document so all you need to do is open it up and print and cut apart with scissors. No fancy crafting skills needed. Best if printed on cardstock (you know, for the gift tag-y effect) but I don't think anyone would mind if you use the ole office printer to just print it out on regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper… (The PDF is for 6 tags)

This scene below features the fabulous AIP Chewy “Chocolate” Chunk Cookies by Flame To Fork. I used chocolate chips instead of their Carob Chips this time, but these cookies are so good that I'll probably use them as my go-to chocolate chip recipe from now on. They are nut-free and egg-free which is a huge bonus for bringing them to my kids' school! I also have given these to several non-Paleo friends and they thought they were delicious too.